Toyota to consolidate electronics parts operations within Denso

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp reached an agreement with its main supplier Denso Corp to consolidate all core electronics component operations of both companies within Denso, Japan's largest automaker said on Friday.

Toyota said it will discuss with Denso the transfer of electronics components production at its Hirose plant, which produces inverters for electric motors, by the end of next year.

Denso, one of the world's largest auto components suppliers, will take over mass production of electronics components used in Toyota's vehicles from 2022, Toyota said.

Denso, which manufacturers components ranging from air conditioning systems to semiconductors, already counts Toyota as its biggest customer, accounting for nearly half of its annual sales. Toyota is Denso's biggest stakeholder, owning 24 percent of the supplier's shares.

Toyota also said it had concluded a memorandum of understanding with Toyota Tsusho Corp, its trading arm, to consider transferring the automaker's sales and marketing operations for Africa to Toyota Tsusho from January 2019.

(Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)